Eagles' Jalen Hurts Sought Help From Unlikely Source

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has always been a player who has wanted to get better every day. He showed it in college and he has shown it in the NFL.

The Eagles soared out to a 10-1 record a year ago and then the offense sputtered as Philadelphia dropped five of six and finished the year 11-6 before being ousted in the Wild Card round of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As soon as the offseason hit, Hurts reached out to a very unlikely source for assistance in better understanding what went wrong, and how he could improve his game.

Hurts sought out former New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. According to him, the Eagles were easy to defend because they weren’t committed to pounding the rock.

"They weren't committed to the run," Martindale said. "They weren't committed to the quarterback runs. They were trying to throw the ball a little, but too much on early downs, which put them behind the sticks. That's when defenses can go to work."

The Giants beat the Eagles in the final game of the season when Hurts and the offense only mustered 10 points in the loss. Shortly after Martindale had left the Giants, he got a call from the Eagles quarterback, which came as a surprise.

"I've been doing this for 40 years, and it's the first time I've had an opposing quarterback call me up," Martindale said. "I thought it was pretty cool that the guy called. It shows you what kind of pro he really is. He's just looking at every angle that he can to get better."

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This season, the Eagles are certainly committed to the running game after plucking Saquon Barkley away from the Giants in the offseason. Hurts and new coordinator Kellen Moore are working together to build an offense around all the skills on the team.

Hurts is a competitor, and will go down all avenues to get better. Talking to Martindale is just another example of that.